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Only real oversight I can come up with is DBS Jr.

 

I was really bummed when I saw DBS Jr. didn't get a spot. Although like you say, not sure who I'd replace for him.

 

Super happy that Kojima is in this year. Tenzan's final run last year was good, but I like Kojima more so I was gutted when he gave away his spot. And now there's a lot of potential matchups for him that are either completely fresh, or haven't been run in at least 2 years.

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I feel like EVIL and Yoshi-Hashi are the only two in the whole thing that I don't like. I'm not a ZSJ fan either but he'll break out some cool shit every now & then.

 

Pulling for my boy Naito but wouldn't be surprised to see Kenny win again to set-up Okada/Omega III at Wrestle Kingdom. Ibushi is certainly a wild card that will make things interesting. Overall, I'm really happy with the participants this year & look forward to seeing the block set-up.

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Sabre Jr. is arguably my least favorite guy in the field as I've rarely been impressed with his work on the indies outside of a few outings. But too many people who's opinions I respect are fans of his that I'm looking forward to seeing him in this setting. If he can't win me over working against this crew its definitely never happening. But I'm looking forward to it.

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The other pleasant surprise from the lineup is the absence of Cody Rhodes. That just about eliminates any worry they'd do something rash like have him beat Okada on 7/1, and frankly there isn't any one I'd replace with him. Perhaps Makabe? But even he hasn't been featured at all as a singles in quite some time so its not quite that stale. I'm a big fan of Yano in the tourney for levity and keeping cards moving without being completely stacked.

 

Only real oversight I can come up with is DBS Jr.

 

I could get behind two weeks of Makabe yelling fuck you at everyone in his block.

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The other pleasant surprise from the lineup is the absence of Cody Rhodes.

 

Yep.

 

Not crazy about Juice being there. Can't stand the guy's look. Give him a djembe already.

 

Kojima… hum… if he only does his annoying routine after selling for the whole match a-la Savage circa 96, he'll be a waste of space. If not, hopefully booked better than Tenzan last year.

 

Suzuki and Ibushi being there is cool.

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The Android app's weird. All it actually does once installed is open the NJPW World web page in your default browser (from which you can play clips or cast to Chromecast as normal.) However, you do need to have the app installed on Android devices: if you don't, then trying to play a clip just sends you to the Google Play store listing for the app.

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I am really looking forward to this years G1. I expect Omega to get the win over Okada so they're 1-1-1 leading in to the likely blow off at Wrestle Kingdom. A lot depends on Omega committing to more years with New Japan.

 

I am also hyped to see ZSJ vs. Yuji Nagata. All in all I am excited for what's to come.

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I'm thinking Omega wins and we get Omega vs Okada at the Dome again... I was kinda shocked he didn't win at Dominion. Who takes credit for New Japan right now? They lose Nakamura, Gallows, Anderson, Ibushi, Styles, Sakuraba, Devitt, Shibata, and Honma all in the course of 3 years, and their attendance either stays the same or goes up!!! How does that happen? Is it all Okada? Is it the booking? Does Omega and Naito being pushed up the card have anything to do with it? It boggles my mind. Can anybody explain this to me?

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Naito is apparently the biggest merchandise seller that they have, so between Okada and him I'd guess things are doing ok. Though is NJPW also at the same point as WWE where the brand is the draw, not the wrestlers? If so, where does that leave decisions like fan voting on Dome mains? Something that ironically catalysed Naito's surge in popularity.

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I'm thinking Omega wins and we get Omega vs Okada at the Dome again... I was kinda shocked he didn't win at Dominion. Who takes credit for New Japan right now? They lose Nakamura, Gallows, Anderson, Ibushi, Styles, Sakuraba, Devitt, Shibata, and Honma all in the course of 3 years, and their attendance either stays the same or goes up!!! How does that happen? Is it all Okada? Is it the booking? Does Omega and Naito being pushed up the card have anything to do with it? It boggles my mind. Can anybody explain this to me?

 

They held on to Okada and Tanahashi, who were always the aces. They did a good job of building Naito to fill the Nakamura vacuum and Omega to fill the Styles vacuum. Gallows, Anderson, Devitt, Honma and Shibata never mattered much as draws. And they've continued to deliver the main event style their fans crave. Pretty straightforward, really.

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I think losing all that talent actually kept them going more than hindered them. They were starting to get stagnant with the booking and were waffling on if Okada/Tanahashi were the guy. So they lose Nakamura so they move Tanahashi down to fill that void and suddenly Okada is the clear cut top guy. That also had them get behind Omega and push him which interjected a fresh face into the mix and it also nicely happened right when it was time to push Naito with his new gimmick.

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I watched part of the G1 in the USA special last night on Fight Network in Canada because my cable company is having a free preview of Fight Network right now. JR said they were going to tape Night 2 tonight, and then said it would air on AXS on Friday, but I checked the guide on my TV for Friday and don't see they are showing then, and they didn't mention when Fight Network will air it, so I wonder if it will air at all on Fight Network.

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For those that haven't seen it, Night 1 is flying under the radar for what should be a legit SOTY contender. Probably well short of Wrestle Kingdom in my book, but it was a ton of fun. There was certainly some unnecessary filler in the middle, but it started and ended strong as hell with the last 3 matches all coming in at the 4+ star range for me.

 

The opening 10 man tag was terrific for what it was designed for. Zack/Juice increased my already ridiculously high expectations for Juice's G1 debut and was yet another ZSJ match I really liked despite generally not being a big fan.

 

Naito/Ishii was a terrific sprint that somehow went 16 minutes with some of the smoothest and most logical transitions around. While not enough sustained, meaningful selling to merit match of the year talk, it was great, crisp action the whole way and a strong showcase of what these two do so well.

 

Omega/Elgin was a legit MOTYC. Big, outrageous spots that were almost all sold and given time to matter aside for a few choice, late match no-sell occasions that only added to the finishing stretch. Killer strikes, great drama and chemistry. Absolutely loved this.

 

Okada/Cody was far and away the best Cody match I've ever seen. Perhaps that doesn't register as high praise to some, but they worked a great match with counters and near falls that actually had you biting at the finish of a match that should've left no room for doubt. Add in the storytelling with Omega's presence building to matches with both Okada & Cody, but doing so without compromising the finish.

 

Really strong show. Hell, it may be because I haven't heard JR in ages and wasn't familiar with Josh Barnett as I've exclusively watched NJ with Japanese commentary, but evne thought they did a good job on the big matches.

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Thought the IWGP Title match was really strong. I can't keep saying I dislike Okada considering I've enjoyed nearly all his title defenses this year and this is the first time he pulled something quite great out of someone I considered an inferior worker to him.

 

Props to Cody though. His heel shtick was actually quite over and his cockiness helped fuel Okada's great Ace mode comebacks.

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